Reputations Matter Most | Fedex Fanfiction

Chapter 24

Fitz made his decision.

He was outside of Rimeshire, taking a deep breath as he was about to knock on the door.
Fitz gulped as he took a step forward and raised his hand, gently knocking on the door and waiting for someone to answer the door. A few moments passed and the door opened.
Usually Juline greeted Fitz at the door, this time it was Kesler.
"Oh! Fitz! Hello!" Kesler exclaimed, a smile on his face.
Fitz blinked as he seen how messy Kesler looked. His hair was a mess and he had burn marks on his clothing. Fitz assumed he was doing some sort of experiments, maybe making a new elixir or trying out something new at home.
"Hello Kesler." Fitz smiled.

"Is Dex home?"
"He, his mother and the triplets went shopping." Kesler said.
"They need new clothes and Juline needed the help of taking care of the three troublemakers."
Fitz hummed, nodding.
"Uh, do you know when they'll be home?" Fitz asked, tilting his head.
Kesler sucked in a breath and sighed.
"Mmh...well it's already been 2 hours since they left, so they at least have Dex some new clothes... the triplets are probably causing them trouble by 'playing' hide and seek...soo, I have no idea!" Kesler smiled at Fitz.

"How would you like to come inside and wait? I need a helping hand anyways."
Fitz was hesitant.
"Oh, uhm...well..." Fitz fumbled.
Kesler noticed Fitz's hesitation.
"I don't bite, Fitz." Kesler said.
"Come on my boy! It'll be a while until Dex will get back, this'll make the time fly."
Kesler stepped aside and Fitz thought about it for a moment.
"Uhm...okay. Sure." Fitz smiled as he stepped in.

"Great! Oh, would you like some spare clothes? To not ruin your clothes?"
"If that's okay."
"Of course it's okay. Dex's clothes may be a little too small for you... I think I may have some old clothes that should be okay! Come now Fitz!"

*****

Dex sighed as he entered the house behind his mother and the triplets.
"You three better go and take a shower right now!" Juline scowled as the triplets instantly ran about.
Dex shut the door and set the bags he held in his hands down. He unclasped his cape and he froze when he heard a loud explosion, coughing and laughing from his dad's work room.
"Oh come now! That cannot be the first time you've exploded something Fitz!"
"Kaff! Kaff! God, Kesler...I messed it- Kaff! - I messed it up, I'm so-"
"Oh don't worry! Don't worry! Just take a moment to catch your breath my boy!"
Dex blinked in confusion and he quickly rushed his way towards his father's work room as his mother tried to deal with the triplets.

Dex instantly opened the door and began to have a coughing fit as smoke instantly poured out the room.
"Oh! Dex! How was shopping with your mother and siblings?" Kesler smiled at Dex.
Dex gave his chest a good smack as he let out one last cough before looking at Fitz who was covering his mouth with a baggy t-shirt he wore. Dex felt his cheeks warm as he seen how Fitz wasn't looking as perfect as he usually did. His hair was a bit dishevelled and he wore baggy clothing that had burn marks on them.
"Uhm...fine." Dex managed to say.
"Wh-what's Fitz doing here?" 
Kesler looked at Fitz and smiled at Dex.
"He came to see you! But since you were gone, I asked him to help out while he waited for you!" Kesler exclaimed.
"Go on Fitz, I can clean this place up. I need to help my wife with controlling the triplets!"
Kesler patted Fitz's back and Fitz smiled at Kesler.
"Next time I'll help clean up, I swear." Fitz said.
"Next time, huh?" Kesler grinned.
"I look forward to that!"

Dex stared blankly at Fitz as Fitz made his way over to him.
"Uh hey." Fitz smiled.
"Hi?" Dex said, blinking at Fitz.
Fitz rested his hand on Dex's waist, guiding him out the room.
"Let's talk." Fitz said, voice sort of quiet.
Dex's brain instantly went fuzzy when Fitz's hand went on his waist.
"U-uhm, yeah, okay?" Dex said, voice slightly squeaky and confused.
Kesler watched as Fitz and Dex left and he smiled.
How interesting, Kesler never thought he'd see Fitz Vacker take interest in his son like this.

Fitz and Dex had made it to Dex's bedroom. Dex was sort of stood in shock as Fitz shut the door behind him.
"You...and my dad were hanging out." Dex stated, turning around and facing Fitz.
Dex clapped his hands together and he held his clasped hands over his mouth, staring at Fitz in confusion.
Fitz smiled.
"I was a little hesitant at first but...your dad is a really cool guy." Fitz said, rubbing his neck.
"And his old clothes don't look too bad on me either."
Fitz looked down at the baggy shirt which was obviously a band shirt, but Fitz hadn't recognised what the band was. Probably some sort of rock or metal band from what he could tell.
Dex gulped and hummed.

"Yeah, well you look good in anything though, so..." Dex mumbled, cheeks turning red as he averted his gaze.
Fitz couldn't stop the blush which formed on his face.
"Wow Dex~ I didn't know you thought of me like that!" Fitz grinned, leaning in closer to Dex.
Dex grumbled and shot a glare at Fitz. Fitz couldn't stop grinning like an idiot.
Dex used both his hands and ruffled Fitz's hair, causing it to become more messy and causing Fitz to yelp and to whack Dex's hands away.
"Gahh! Dexx!" Fitz wailed.
Dex took his hands away as Fitz ran his fingers through his hair, ruffling it himself. Dex smiled at Fitz.
"Do not tease me, Vacker." Dex said.

Fitz sighed and he made a face of discomfort.
"Please never do that again." Fitz said.
Dex looked at Fitz.
"Oh come on, your hair was a mess anyways. It still is." Dex said, taking a step closer to Fitz.
Fitz held his breath for a moment as Dex now used a hand to run his fingers through Fitz's hair, fixing it. Fitz stared at Dex's face, watching how focused he looked as he fixed his hair.
"And...there we go." Dex smiled, taking his hand away.
"Anyways, you want to talk, right?"
Dex was about to take a step back before Fitz slipped his hand into his and took a step forward.
Dex blinked at Fitz, who was staring at their hands now. Fitz began to fiddle with Dex's fingers before interlocking their fingers together.
"Well, I did mean for this to be more romantic but uh, obviously I got side-tracked while you were away." Fitz said, smiling at Dex.
Ohh boy, Dex's heart was not handling this well. 

"I've thought about this. Like, really thought about this."  Fitz stated, using his free hand to rub his neck.
"And...Dex, I'll be honest with you. I'm mostly scared of someone who knows me and is a friend of my dad's catching me with you, like on a date or just doing something lovey dovey, and then telling him and outing me."
Dex sucked in a breath.
"Oh, Fitz...I didn't even think of that..." Dex frowned, squeezing Fitz's hand.
"But...I'm gonna have to come out to him eventually, aren't I?" Fitz shrugged.
"So if someone tells my dad I'm dating a boy, then I'll explain everything to him and just hope for the best."
Dex looked right into Fitz's eyes. Fitz smiled as he stared into Dex's periwinkle eyes which sparkled bright as he stared back into his eyes.
"Really?" Dex questioned.
Fitz nodded.

"Why should I live my life in misery and fear? I'll live it carefree and happy. Which means I want to be your boyfriend and freely hold your hand, kiss you wherever and whenever I want..." Fitz said, cheeks turning red.
Dex couldn't stop the smile that grew on his face.
"So...?" Dex urged Fitz to go on.
Fitz rolled his eyes and leaned in, resting his forehead against Dex's.
"Would you like to go on a second date with me, Dex?" Fitz asked softly.
"I would love to, Fitz." Dex said.
Fitz smiled.

"Great! Now, I need to find my clothes and get changed back into them." Fitz said, backing away.
"Uh, could we hang out for a bit?"
Dex seemed reluctant.
"I was hoping to create a gadget..." Dex mumbled, rubbing his chin with his free hand as he squeezed Fitz's hand with the other.
"Do you mind just watching and talking while I do that?"
Fitz hummed, thinking about it.
"You know what? Sure. Maybe I'll learn something." Fitz smiled.
Dex smiled.
"Okay, go and get changed then. I'll start setting things up." Dex said, letting go of Fitz's hand after squeezing it once more.
Fitz nodded and he made his way out of the room to find where he left his clothes earlier from when he had to change.
Dex on the other hand made his way to his desk and sat in the chair, grabbing a sketchbook and flipping through the pages until he reached one. He stared at the sketch he drew on the paper and looked at what he wrote in order to make this object.

Dex was kinda excited for Fitz to watch him make this, mostly because he was going to be able to talk about his interest and share it with someone he was interested in too.

*****

Fitz couldn't help but stare and admire Dex as he rambled on about the gadget he was creating.
"This part here allows-" Dex began to explain how his gadget worked.
Dex looked at Fitz and he smiled.
"Haha, stop it with the heart eyes."
Dex's cheeks turned red and Fitz snapped out of his thoughts, smiling at Dex.
"What? I can't help it. You're cute when you're excited." Fitz said, shrugging as he rested his head on Dex's shoulder.
Dex looked at Fitz and Fitz stared at the gadget before looking at Dex with a smile.
"Well? Go on, I want to hear more." Fitz said.
Dex sighed out softly, smiling as he focused on his gadget.
"Okay, so this is part is programmed to-"

Yep, this is what Dex wanted. A guy who was genuinely interested in him and would listen to him ramble about his own interests. Fitz himself was more than happy to watch and listen to Dex. He found it quite adorable and was looking forward to more moments like these with Dex.


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Word count: 1660